Christmas Jars and the Symbols of the Salad Dressing

Sunday is the day I share a little of my soul. Enjoy.

This year we're giving away jars of herb infused vinegar at Christmas to the gals from the ladies Relief Society. I had to share how pretty they turned out...and the message attached to each jar.

The herbs grew in my garden and we harvested them just before we made the jars. Distilled vinegar over the herbs and sealed tightly. In two weeks the vinegar will be nicely infused with the herbs and ready for salad dressing.

The Symbols of the Salad Dressing

Vinegar: “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.“ John 19: 28-30

Usually olive oil is meant when oil is mentioned in the scriptures. From Old Testament times, olive oil has been used for temple and tabernacle rites, for anointings, for burning in lamps, and for food. Olive oil is sometimes a symbol for purity and for the Holy Spirit and its influence (1 Sam. 10:1, 6; 16:13; Isa. 61:1–3).

Bitter herbs. Eaten by the Israelites at the seder or home passover meal, to remind them of the bitterness of Egyptian bondage prior to the exodus (Ex. 12:8; Num. 9:11). The herbs included watercress, radishes, endive, horseradish. These herbs are believed to have been eaten at the last supper.

Oil and vinegar dressing:
Combine 1 part vinegar and 3 parts oil with a whisk until well combined. Pour over vegetables to add luster and flavor, to please the heart and heal the body.

May the symbols of the dressing remind you of our Lord and the season we celebrate His miraculous birth. May we ever more rejoice that He did in fact, finish the work He was sent forth to do.

“We testify that the greatest gift of this or any other Christmas is the Atonement of Jesus as the Redeemer, the Son of God... It is a gift we cannot handle or touch, but we can feel the immeasurable love of the Giver. Through this gift we can all find the pathway to eternal life. Our testimony of this is sure, real, and absolute, as is my sacred testimony of Him. We invoke the blessings of God upon us all at this special Christmastime.” -- James E. Faust

Merry Christmas my dear friends. May God bless you this Christmas with unmeasurable joy.

There you go.

Infused Holiday Vinegar Tutorial

One of the things I like to do for the holidays is give away homemade infused vinegars and oils along with some noodles for a quick holiday meal gift set. It's a simple and cost effective way to say "Smoooches". My Chef Tess homemade condiments are among some of the few kitchen gifts that can be prepared up to a month in advance. Home canning recipes are good year round for preparing for the Season. Some condiment recipes don't require home canning, just being kept in the fridge. Vinegar infusions don't even need to be kept in the fridge as long as you follow some simple rules. With all the amazing herbs in my garden this year and the access I have to fresh fruit and garlic...we're having a very inexpensive blow-out condiment making fest. Be it as it may. I shall always love giving homemade gifts. They're not just for penny pinching, they're for heart warming. They are personal. Anyone can go down to the mega-mall and get an infused oil. Few will take the time to make something from the heart. So...that's my take on that subject. I love gifts of any kind (feel free to send anything my way you feel you need to...chocolate is always in season...).

Keep in mind, if one makes a gift, it fills two voids in a person's heart; the void to create and the void to give freely to one's fellow man. Enough said. Let's go vinegar vooom-voom.

For Garlic Herb infused vinegar you will need:

1 gallon of distilled vinegar or apple cider vinegar, unflavored

8 cups of whole clean fresh herbs (your choice...today I used home grown tarragon, but rosemary, basil, thyme and dill are also particularly amazing).
32 peeled garlic cloves

8 1 pint jars, sterile

Divide the herbs between the pint jars, about 1 cup per jar. Put 4 cloves of garlic in each jar. Fill the jar with vinegar and tighten lid. Put in a cool dry place for 3-4 weeks. Give as holiday gifts or use for your own family.

Homemade Raspberry Vinegar is particularly delightful. It's amazing drizzled on holiday apple salads or in a ham glaze. I like to make it using Freeze Dried Raspberries, as they are always in season.

You can however use frozen raspberries as well. Those are made with the ratio of 6 cups berries to 8 cups vinegar.

You will need:

2 cups freeze dried raspberries

8 cups of unseasoned rice or wine vinegar

1 gallon glass jug

Directions:

Put half of the berries in the jug. Put the remaining in a large gallon size non-reactive sauce pan and gently warm vinegar over low heat for 3-5 minutes. Pour warm vinegar over berries in jar. Add cap tightly. Let stand two weeks, shaking daily.

After two weeks, pour mixture through a cheesecloth lined sieve set over a bowl, pressing down on berries to extract as much juice as possible. Discard berry seeds and pulp. Divide between 4-5 sterile pint jars. Seal tightly.

Both raspberry vinegar and tarragon vinegar can be kept at room temperature up to a year.

There you go.

What are you doing this season to simplify your gift giving? Next week...we start candy making week! It should be rather eye opening...and as close to "evil" as I dare allow on my blog. Smoooches everyone!